number 242, h.r. 801, a bill to amend the securities exchange act of 1934 to make the shareholder threshold for registration of savings and loan holding companies the same as for the bank holding companies. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill? members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 417. the nays are four. 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, the unfinished business is the question on agreeing to the speaker's approval of the journal on which the yeas and nays were ordered. the question is on agreeing to the speaker's approval of the journal. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a five-minute vote.

[captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 274. the nays are 138. there are three present not voting. the journal is approved.

the speaker pro tempore: members will remove your conversations off the floor. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition?

mr. farenthold: mr. speaker, i ask that the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 2860. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 2860, a bill to amend title 5, united states code, to provide that the inspector general of the office of personnel management may use amounts in the revolving fund of the office to fund audits, investigations, and oversight activities, and for other urposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from texas, mr. farenthold, and the gentleman from maryland, mr. cummings, will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas. mr. farenthold: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. farenthold: i'd also like to ask for unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. farenthold: thank you very much. mr. speaker, h.r. 2860 responds to the office of personnel management inspector general's

call for increased oversight of the o.p.m.'s revolving fund by providing the i.g. access to a portion of that revolving fund money for oversight. h.r. 860 recognizes oversight is a legitimate business cost by using existing funds to help the i.g. respond to the increased referrals of alleged fraud within the mom's revolving fund operation, including, especially, in the background investigation used to determine an individual's eligibility for a security clearance. the office of personnel management serves as a regulator for these rules affecting the management of federal workers but has evolved into a fee-based service provider that provides billions of dollars in service each year to the very agencies governed by o.p.m.'s rules. the revolving fund's budget has grown significantly over the years from $191 million -- >> the house is not in order.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is correct. the house is not in order. mr. farenthold: thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman may proceed. mr. farenthold: the revolving fund's budget has grown significantly over the past 16 years from $191 million to more than $2 billion today. o.p.m.'s revolving fund budget is almost 91% of the o.p.m.'s budget. yet, the resources available for the i.g. to audit these funds have not kept pace with the growing amounts. for over 30 years, both the government accountability office and o.p.m. inspector generals have been concerned about the management of resources in the revolving fund, each has issued a number of reports and audits examining various and often recurring problems. last year o.p.m. inspector general mcfarland described serious problems, inhibiting his ability to perform the

duties and responsibilities of his office. mcfarland stated his office was at a point where it could not meet its stat toshe obligation to effectively oversee revolving funds. he said his office has been inundated to audit and/or investigate different parts of revolving fund programs. from technical audit work to the continuing flow of allegations involving falsification and abuse of authority, the inspector general has investigated a number of cases involving the falsification of background investigations, including reporting of investigations that never occurred, recording answers to questions that were never asked and document records checks that were never conducted. within the military department, 81% of o.p.m.'s customers, these cases have serious national security implications. inspector general mcfarland testified before the federal

work force subcommittee in june and he said the problems have been operating in the shadows too long, citing the phrase, sunshine. h.r. 2860 would allow the o.p.m. i.g. to use the revolving fund moneys to use for investigation work. it would be limited to one-third of 1% of the budget and they would be required to send an annual budget request and report involving the oversight investigation work. it provides resources for critical oversight that can be accomplished at relatively low costs using existing funds. i urge the adoption of this bipartisan and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. who seeks recognition? the gentleman from maryland is recognized. mr. cummings: thank you very much, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. cummings: mr. speaker, i rise in strong support of h.r.

2860, the o.p.m. i.g. act, which is a successful product of the bipartisan efforts of federal work force subcommittee chairman farenthold and ranking member lynch, and i applaud them for their efforts. i thank my distinguished colleagues for their work and commitment in sponsoring legislation to provide the inspector general of the office of personnel management with critically needed funding to perform audits, investigations, oversight of o.p.m.'s revolving fund activities. through the revolving fund, o.p.m. provides approximately $2 billion in services to gencies on a fee-for-service basis. these include background investigations, leadership training and human resource management. h.r. 2860 would fix the

loophole in the current law which prevents this $2 billion revolving fund from paying for the course of o.p.m.'s mptor general to properly oversee the fund's activities. this legislation would allow the o.p.m. inspector general to use a very small portion of the revolving fund budget up to a maximum of 1/3 of 1% of the fund to pay for audit, investigative and oversight work. he recent navy shoot and the edward snowden leaks of classified information have highlighted the importance of comprehensive oversight of the federal government's background investigation and security clearance process. during last june's federal work force subcommittee hearing on o.p.m.'s revolving fund, the o.p.m. inspector general expressed substantial concerns

about the falsification of background investigations. the o.p.m. inspector general plays a crucial part in ensuring that background investigations and the process used by the government to determine whether individuals should be trusted with our nation's classified and sensitive information is properly conducted. this legislation would give the o.p.m. inspector general the funds and resources needed to conduct the necessary oversight activities to help safeguard our government against national security risks. the center has already -- the senate has already passed a substantially similar bill, and i ask all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in supporting h.r. 2860. with that i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves his time. the gentleman from texas. mr. farenthold: thank you very much. i'd like to thank mr. cummings and mr. lynch for working

together in such a bipartisan manner on this very important national security bill. it's a commonsense good government bill that's designed to use existing funds that are brought in to the o.p.m. to oversee the o.p.m. they got a huge chunk of money here that are coming from the background checks and don't have the resources necessary to adequately make sure these background checks are going to be done. mr. cummings cited numerous examples of how the failures in the system have resulted in tragedies and have resulted in information getting out. we need to make sure these background checks are being done properly. we need to make sure this money is being administered properly, and this bipartisan bill does that and i, too, urge my colleagues to pass the bill and reserve. the speaker pro tempore: who seeks recognition? mr. cummings: mr. speaker, i want to yield five minutes to and -sponsor of the bill

the subcommittee on the work force, federal work force, yield him five minutes, mr. lynch from massachusetts. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. mr. lynch: thank you. i thank the ranking member for yielding. first of all, i want to say that as the ranking democrat on the subcommittee on the federal work force, i rise in strong support of mr. farenthold's measure here, h.r. 2860, the o.p.m. inspector general act, legislation that will enhance oversight of the background check process for the issuance of government security clearances. and at the outset, as well, i'd like to thank the subcommittee chairman, mr. farenthold, for working in a bipartisan manner to sponsor h.r. 2860. i'd also like to thank our full committee chairman, mr. issa, and ranking member, mr. cummings, the gentleman from maryland, for their hard work and their leadership on this legislation as well.

recent events involving edward snowden and his leaking of classified information and as well aaron alexis and the tragic shooting at the washington navy yard have called attention to the need to re-examine and improve the federal government's background investigation and security clearance process. h.r. 2860 is a key component of our examination, and this legislation provides the inspector general of the office of personnel management with the resources that he needs to assist congress in our review and oversight of a process that is critical within our national security framework. we rely heavily on our inspectors general. they are at the front lines of investigating fraud, waste and abuse in government programs, and we as members of the legislature, rely heavily on them in getting accurate information. in particular, h.r. 2860 would give the office of personnel management the authority to access a portion of o.p.m.'s

revolving fund to pay for audits, investigations and oversight of the agency's revolving fund program which include the federal government's background investigation process, their leadership training fund and personnel management solutions. i thank the o.p.m. inspector general patrick mcfarland, did a great job on this in making us aware of the necessity for this legislation during a june, 2013, federal work force subcommittee hearing, as has been noted, mr. mcfarland noted that his office was handy capped in conducting proper oversight of the o.p.m.'s revolving fund. the oversight costs cannot be charged to the revolving fund and as a result of fiscal year 2013, the inspector general had only available $3 million to conduct oversight of o.p.m.'s program involving $2 billion. because of these limited resources, the o.p.m. inspector general was not able to thoroughly investigate

falsification of background investigations and conducting audits of the revolving fund or examine the fund's high-risk areas. however, h.r. 2860, when enacted, would allow the o.p.m. inspector general fund up to a maximum of 1/3 of 1% of o.p.m.'s revolving fund budget, assuming a revolving budget of $2 billion, the inspector general may be authorized to receive to a maximum of $6 million to fund oversight costs. . ghon since says giving the inspector general is a prudent investment. moreover, if national security is implicated the, the importance of preventing or mitigating national security threats is immeasurable. let me also add that this proposal was included in the president's fiscal year 2014 budget request and the senate passed by unanimous consent a substantially similar legislation last october. in addition, a provision granting the o.p.m. inspector general access to the revolving

fund was included in the omnibus appropriation bill released last night. i would note, however, that that provision expires after one year. mr. farenthold's legislation, which i have co-sponsored, is incredibly important and should be adopted. i urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join with myself and mr. cummings and farenthold in supporting 2860. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from texas. million -- >> thank you very much. mr. cummings: we have no additional speakers. >> at this point i would like to wrap it up and close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. farenthold: thank you, very much. as the gentleman from virginia and the gentleman from maryland have pointed out, this is common sense, good government bill that has strong national security implication. and i'm going to urge to -- i'm going to urge all my colleagues to support it.

again, even though it was included in the omnibus that's coming through, that's one year, this creates permanent law where we continue to do this necessary and appropriate oversight at a fraction of a percent of cost to the budget. absolutely a phenomenal bill that we all need to get behind and support. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from maryland. mr. cummings: i yield myself such time as i may consume as i close. mr. speaker, i take this moment mr. lynch and certainly our chairman, chairman issa for this bipartisan effort. it just makes sense. there are certain things that happen that we see in government that need correcting. and this is one of those things. and the fact that we have now put a spotlight on it and through a bipartisan effort have

put together legislation that should pass this house unanimously it just shows what can be done. it's a great piece of legislation. it's a very practical piece of legislation. and it's one that is needed. with that i would urge all of our colleagues to vote in favor of this legislation. with that, mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. mr. firsthand hold: yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to ouse resolution h.r. 2860. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the -- mr. cummings: i ask for the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted.

a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this otion will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i move the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 1233, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 1233, a bill to amend chapter 22 of title 44 of the united states code, popularly known as the presidential records act, to establish procedures for the consideration of claims of constitutionality-based privilege against disclosure of presidential records, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from texas, mr. farenthold, and the gentleman from maryland, mr. cummings, will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas.

mr. farenthold: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. farenthold: thank you very much, mr. speaker. i also ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and and include remarks extraneous material in the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. farenthold: thank you. mr. speaker, h.r. 1233 would codify the existing executive order that requires former presidents to appeal to incumbent presidents to keep certain presidential documents privileged under the presidential records act. this bill would lock into statute a process established by president ronald reagan in 1989 and restored by president obama in 2009 and used without controversy by four of the last five presidents. the bill would ensure greater transparency for the privilege extension request by former president and help prevent abuses of the system of the the bill does not expand the limits

of executive privilege, nor would it give former president custodial rights over their administration's presidential records. let me say that again to make it perfectly clear, mr. speaker. the bill does not expand the limits of the executive privilege. nor does it give former presidents custodial rights over their administration's presidential record. what the bill does is shift the focus from the technology used to capture and store information to the information itself. historically federal record keeping has taken a medium focused approach to keeping records. in a world where technology advances -- technological advances rapidly and equipment and software becomes obsolete in months instead of years, making agencies focus on saving all information than in certain ms assures a -- a more robust historical record. h.r. 1233 would also create a framework to end the all too

common practice of executive branch employees using personal email, i.m., instant messages, and similar technologies to engage in official federal business. specifically the bill requires official business done on personal accounts be forwarded into an official account within five days and authorized negative personnel actions against individuals who intentionally violate this disclosure requirement. the bill would also phase out paper focused relics of the current federal record keeping law. the bill would change the sole called 30 year presumption which lets federal agencies hold on to their records for a 0-year period before turning them over to the national archives. a rule which in the current environment all but guarantees the information will disappear as the technology used to store that information changes. imagine delivering punch cards today to the national archives. it would be a massive challenge to try to make that in a readable form today. as beta max tapes, we see

technology change anti-need for this to be updated. it would also make it much easier for agencies to turn over their records to the national archives sooner. this bill would also eliminate the so-called print to file rule which actually encourages agencies to print out their electronic files and send the paper to the national archives. archaic rules like these actually stand in the way of effective record keeping. i'll reserve -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from maryland is recognized. mr. cummings: thank you very much, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. cummings: first of all, mr. speaker, i want to begin by thanking chairman issa for his supporting of this legislation and for making this a bipartisan effort. the presidential and federal records act amendments is aimed at giving the american people access to the records presidents

create while they are in office. under the presidential records act, a president has discretion to restrict access to his records for up to 12 years after he leaves office. after that time a president can continue to restrict access to his records by arguing that the records are protected by executive privilege. the presidential records act does not currently include guidelines for the consideration of presidential privileged claims. this bill would amend a law by adding procedures to ensure the timely release of presidential records. under the bill current and former presidents would have up to 90 days to object to release of records or those records would be released.

the presidential and federal records act also would require that any assertion of privilege by a former president be affirmed by the incumbent president or through a court order. the bill we are considering today also makes clear that the right to assert the privilege is personal to current and former it dents and it cannot be given to assistants orel tiffs. putting this into statute would ensure that future presidents are held to the standard first set by president reagan. the chairman of the oversight committee, representative darrell issa, added an amendment during the committee markup of the bill to address the use of personal email by federal employees. there's nothing currently in the presidential records act or the federal records act that

prohibits employees from using personal email accounts to conduct official business. these acts simply require preservation of these records. this bill will continue to allow employees to use their personal email account when necessary, but it would require employees to copy their official email account or forward their email to their official account. this is a good government bill. similar versions of this bill overwhelmingly passed the house in two previous congresses. i urge my colleagues to support h.r. 1233 so that the senate can take it up quickly and so that it might be sent on to the president for his signature. with that i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. farenthold: thank you very much. i stand with mr. cummings in supporting this good government bill that continues to preserve information from the federal

government for historians and future generations, adapts to modern technology, and closes the loophole with respect to private email accounts. i'm a huge supporter, happy we are working together in a bipartisan manner on these and other good government bills. i'll continue to reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from maryland is recognized. mr. cummings: i yield myself such time as i may consume. as i close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. cummings: again i want to thank the gentleman for yielding. i want to thank our chairman and the members of our committee for making this happen. again, there are situations where we find the law needs clarification. this is one of those clarifying opportunities and we have taken advantage of it in a bipartisan way. and again i would urge all of our members to vote in favor of this legislation. with that i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields his time. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. farenthold: thank you very much, mr. speaker.

i join the gentleman from maryland in urging my colleagues to support h.r. 1233, and yield back the remainder of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back his time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 1233. as amended. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative -- mr. farenthold: i'd like to request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed. pursuant dough clause 12-a of rule 1, the chair declares the house in reces

again. what's the latest on the effort to address the chemical spill in the river there? guest: well, let me begin by commending our state and the tremendous response under the leadership of governor earl ray tomlin and our homeland security director, jimmy janette. the state got the information together immediately after the bill was first confirmed and got the information to the feds and fema, our command as well on the federal end responded immediately with a disaster declaration and fema officials were within the state within 12 hours after that federal declaration after midnight last thursday, i believe it was. so the governor set up an

interagency task force. they're doing their job in a very effective, logical way to make sure that this water is safe. all of our concern at the very top here is for the health and safety of our people. that's paramount. the -- and the first concern. the latest is that there is a low return of water to these 300,000 residents that's been affected. it's in a three-phase process. phase one, two, three. residents can go to the website and learn what phase they're in and get a pretty good idea when their water will return to normal. the first phase is being returned normal, affects the hospitals, schools and nursing homes and those vital institutions within the city of charleston itself, as i understand it. then the water company announced it is public information how they will spread out and the hopes of

returning water as quickly as possible to all the residents. we can't, of course, do it at all once. the system will not be able to handle that so doing it in a phased in man are is the most effective way and to -- manner is the most effective way. host: that water safety map that you talked about also available on the charleston gazette web page. here the red zones are the do not use water areas, the blue zone in the middle where water is safe. want to talk about the inspections of this plant where the leak came from. today's "new york times" calls for oversight in west virginia went unheeded. are you satisfied that the inspections were up to date on this plant, and what is going to happen going forward so this doesn't happen again? guest: i can't say at this point whether i'm satisfied or not satisfied. i don't know the facts surrounding the inspections. met with hat i -- i

chemical safety board representatives in the city of charleston. they've been there before. they inspected the bear aspin factory disaster we had a couple years ago, so they're familiar with our state process. they've done their initial interviews right now and, of course, they'll get down to more serious interviews in the weeks, months ahead. but there are questions of properly reporting this bill by the company. there are questions who first discovered the spill. there are reports saying that citizens by melling the licorice-type odor in the air were the first to discover this leak. that's not the way it should be. it should be the proper authorities doing proper inspections. the question, of course, is were they required to do those inspections, but requirements or not, it should be incumbent

whether it's local, state or federal officials to constantly monitor discharges into the water. the state is now taking an inventory of all these tanks and facilities that are close to rivers, such as this tank was very close to the river, and rather that should be allowed to continue in the future. so there are a lot of unanswered questions from this situation and we need those addressed, chemical safety board experts are here to address those. host: so too soon whether new legislation is going to be needed here or whether you'll be proposing any? guest: exactly, way too soon. like i said in the beginning, our first concern and immediate concern is the health and safety of the people, number one. host: we're talking with congressman nick rahall, a democrat of west virginia, he's here to answer your questions and take your comments. our phone lines are open. democrats -- 20 -585-3880. republicans 202-585-3881. independents, 202-585-3882.

if you're outside the u.s., it's 202-585-3883. also want to note that our c-span bus is kicking off its big 12 conference tour at west virginia university this morning over the next month, the bus will visit all 10 schools during its visits. and over the next five minutes we'll have 10 students participating in the program with the congressman. they're joining us from the mountain layer, the student union on campus. we'll get to them in a second. first we'll go to joyce in charleston, west virginia, on the phone for democrats. joyce, good morning. caller: hi, representative rahall. guest: good morning, joyce. caller: 11:30 last night, i kept on until i got it all done because, boy, it was -- this has really been an ordeal. but the larger issue i think is, you know, for a long time,

i mean, i belonged to the league of women voters. we had a study on water. we had someone from west virginia university down to talk about it. it's west virginia's greatest resource, and we've seem to think -- you know, too many think that coal and oil, i mean, and gas is inward. atically we are system destroying our state and water supply. people know now, surely they should know that it's the water that's our most important resource, and there is nothing wrong with regulations. nothing. -- i told hink governor tomlin that in person, you know. and senator manchin and i wish somehow we could protect our water supply. and stop destroying one of the

most beautiful states in the country. host: congressman. guest: thank you, joyce, for your call. first, let me commend you, john, c-span and this bus tour you're undertaking and commend all the students at west virginia that are going to participate in today's call and student involvement is great and i'm glad to see that. joyce, i can only imagine what you've been going through during this ordeal. and my heart goes out to you, and you should not have to be doing this. you know, the saying is all accidents are preventable. and that's properly going to prove to be the case -- probably going to prove to be the case in this ordeal. what has happened here highlights the fact that all of us, for ourselves, our children, our grandchildren, we want and deserve to have clean water, clean air to breathe, clean environment in which to work and to provide jobs for our people and we can do both at the same time. in regard to clean water, you

know, water is the most sacred, i believe, resource we have. water is the source of everything we do in our daily lives. and unfortunately too many are finding out now what it is to go without clean water. that's a tragedy. and we all at the same time want to provide jobs for our people. and that's kind of the conundrum we find ourselves in too many times in west virginia. you say that our state is systematically being destroyed by -- i assume by our industries that provide jobs for our people. i'm not prepared to say that, but i am prepared to say that we can strike this balance of providing clean water and clean air for our people and providing jobs, and providing jobs for our people, jobs are needed and we know what the industries are in west virginia that provide those jobs.

coal being the number one, and we can never turn our back on that industry. but at the same time we need to live and work together, and we can do that. those who want to protect our environment, all of us want to protect our environment. all of us are environmentalists in that regard, but there is a balance we need to strike here. every one of us have a stake, every one of us are stakeholders in providing this balance for the future of our children and grandchildren. host: let's go out to morgantown now at west virginia university. joining us via skype is colleen beety, a student there at the student union on campus. thank you for joining us. >> welcome. hi. host: your question for the congressman. >> my question concerns the affordable care act in west virginia. west virginia consistently ranks at the top among the 50 states in obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. so i'm wondering how you expect

the west virginia's adoption of the affordable care act and the expansion of medicaid to impact these trends in our state? guest: well, i commend the governor and our state for taking the initiative to expand medicaid as they have. that is crucial and it's allowing a lot of people access to health care for the first time in their lives. it's my hope that under the affordable care act, which i supported and i still support, although i do not call it the perfect law and i do feel there are -- there is room for improvement and we need to work together throughout the political one liners and throw out all the political games and get together across party lines and fix this law. west virginia, for the vast majority of our people, the affordable care act will be a big boom. i mean i'm telling you. it will work in the long term to the best interests of the vast majority of west

virginians. you look at the fact that no longer can a west virginian be excluded from coverage because of a pre-existing condition, children can stay on their arent's plan until age 26, free preventive health care being provided for mental illness, for mammograms, for co-pays -- co-pays are not being required for a lot of visits for people for which you described that if we can treat them early on, by getting them in for these free visits, then we don't have to treat them at a much more tremendous cost in the future to our system. so the affordable care act is going to work in the long term. are there problems now? you bet you there's problems. i'm disgusted and called early on for heads to roll because of the disastrous rollout in the affordable care act. and it was disastrous, and perhaps misstatements made along the way. and those who are responsible for providing this information

to both the white house and those of us on capitol hill that support the law, their heads need to roll. and some of them i think have since i made that statement back in october and perhaps more will before all is said and done. but certainly once we get through this troubled rollout period -- and social security had its problems in the very beginning as well. so once we get through this, i'm very confident this law will work for the benefit of the majority of west virginians who most of all, remember, don't even go to the health exchanges to get their health care. those health exchange problems are affecting a small minority of a small minority of those that are trying to get affordable care. host: along with our students on the bus, several people calling in from west virginia to talk to you. we're talking with congressman nick rahall. he's the ranking member of the house transportation and infrastructure committee. and congressman from the third district in west virginia. call is coming in from berkley springs on our line for

republicans. caller, good morning. caller: i'm going to ask you two questions. what do you think about the obama administration using the i.r.s. to silence the tea party? and the next one is, the ethics committee in congress, isn't that just for show? i mean, you were brought up before the ethics committee for a real estate transaction where you seemed to make a couple million dollars real quick. i would like to know, what do you think about all this going on? guest: first, i think you ought to show your facts on your latter statement, that was a gross misstatement, i call it outright false. if you can prove differently, please come to me with the facts. i know of no such transaction

or no such investigation of myself by the ethics committee. so that, maybe you have me confused with somebody else, i don't know. in regard to the first question, the i.r.s. versus the tea party, the inch r.s. should not be overly scrutinizing or targeting any group for political reasons. rather it's -- whether it's the tea party or any of these conservative groups who have taken the supreme court decision in the united case and gone really haywire with it, but that doesn't, in my opinion, trigger an unwarranted special targeting by the i.r.s. because they're obeying the law. the supreme court has ruled they can do this. the i.r.s. should not be targeting any group for political purposes. >> back out to mar begantown, west virginia, to west virginia university, 30,000, about 30,000 students enrolled at the university. ne of them is samantha runyan.

you're on with congressman rahall. caller: hi. guest: hi, samantha. caller: my question is about the king cole ohio. the king cole highway authority was formed to develop a modern highway in west virginia in the poorest area of the state. 14 years later, the project is still incomplete. particularly given the connection between infrastructure development and economic growth i'm curious why this project hasn't been made a bigger priority and what you plan to do as the ranking member of the house infrastructure and transportation committee to facilitate its completion. guest: thank you for your question, samantha, it is a very good question. and believe you me, the king cole highway is still a top priority of mine and many who

want to see that road become a reality as a way to open up southern west virginia, to look beyond coal, which even the enemies of the e.p.a. want us to do. i have gone to the head of the environmental protection agency, geena mccarty, shortly after she was appointed and i pleaded with her, in the white house, to help us get the necessary permitting to allow this vital segment of the king coal highway in mingo county to be completed. i worked with the developer, with the coal company, with the economic developers in the mingo county. just spoke with them within the last week on this project. the private sector that's ready to step up to the plate and help us get this project done and it's down to the crucial stages now within the e.p.a. and i am prepared to even go to the white house, the president, on this issue. you're right, i'm the top

democrat on the transportation and infrastructure committee. i've gotten a lot of money for this highway in my years in congress, whether democrats were in control or the republican were in control. i've work aid cross the aisle to secure funding not just for king coal highway but many stretches of highway needed in west virginia. route 10, the most dangerous section of road between mann and logan where school buses play chick within coal trucks, i got the first $50 million and then, god bless his memory, senator byrd would help and came along with additional moneys. we did a 1-2, it was a tango process we would do on these roads in west virginia when we had the earmark process open to us. unfortunately we don't have earmarkings today. republicans in congress have made earmarks illegal. therefore it's much more difficult. we know our overall budget

climate as well. it's much more difficult to procure additional earmark dollars for these roads as i want to do and i believe in earmarking when they're fully scrutinized and transparent to the public. but now on the king coal highway, especially this vital section of mingo county, our main blockage is those familiar words in west virginia that have come to stymie so much we want to do, especially within the coal industry, called the e.p.a. and that's where our roadblock is right now. i've not given up. i've not given up on the e.p.a. we're going to be working with them. i believe you can ask any official in mingo county how hard i've been working on this. >> we stay at west virginia university. brian bumgarner joins us. thank you for joining us. caller: thank you. earlier you said you promoted a

industry and environmental protection. can you explain your voting decision to the constituents afingted by the spill right now? guest: that vote to which you refer affected superfund sites. the situation we're facing now with this latest horrendous ordeal in west virginia, the chemical spill, relates to clean water act issues. both of those do come under the jurisdiction of fema and other oversight in this bill come with the jurisdiction of the transportation and infrastructure committee where i'm ranking democrat. we'll be following these investigations very closely. after first, of course, we assure the health and safety of the people. but the vote to which you refer which is not going anywhere in the other body, as i'm sure you're aware too, but nevertheless it affected superfund sites. and not the clean water issues

involved with this particular issue in southern west virginia. host: let's go to our line for democrats. sam is calling in from fairmont, west virginia. good morning, you're on with nick rahall, congressman of the third district. joe, how llo, nicky are you doing? 'm stuck here in pittsburgh. natalie tweeted me two days before that? and your staff they can't do anything either what are they going to do, let them hang us down here or whatever. host: tim, what's your question? caller: my question is, why did she tweet me two days before that happened down there? and that's for paint on ships not only fraud. host: do you know what sam is talking about?

guest: i'm afraid i don't. host: we go to danny in ogden, utah. caller: thank you for taking my call, i want to thank c-span for the great job you do. i want to take a step back for one moment and get the gentleman to comment on the unemployment extension question and also the living wage question. i feel that it's -- i'm not quite sure the words to you. almost immoral for us to have a system in which someone can put 40 hours per week into our free market system and not get a living wage for that. no matter what their job is. that should be the bottom line. i was hoping you'd comment on that and perhaps the possibility of multiyear plan to increase it and maybe -- maybe we don't want the business models to survive that can't support jobs that pay a

living wage and thank you very much. host: i understand your second question on living wage, danny, what was the first question again? i'm sorry i missed that. host: he asked about unemployment insurance. just so you know it's a question question we asked our viewers this morning, how long is too long to be on unemployment benefits. guest: let me say first, not to extend unemployment insurance -- > members take your seats. he house will come to order. sergeant at arms please notify the members for a quorum call. members take your seats.

>> madam clerk have all the required notices been given in accordance with the open public meetings act? >> yes, they have, mr. speaker. >> notice of the calendar for this sthofingse general assembly having been sent to the members of the house, the secretary of state and the state house and posted in

accordance with the open records meeting i declare the house meeting in session. madam clerk, open the machine for a quorum call. madam clerk, close the machine and take a tally. >> mr. speaker, you have 79 members present, you have a quorum. >> resolution on the clerk's desk. >> motion that the assembly adopt senate concurrent resolution calling for joint legislative session to receive the state of the state address from the governor. >> majority leader greenwald. >> i move the resolution. >> majority leader greenwald moves the resolution. seconded by conference leader bonnie watson coleman. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. i recognize the senate majority

leader from bergen county, representing 37 districts, senator loretta wineberg. >> mr. speaker, i move that this joint session of the 216th legislature does now come to order. >> i recognize assembly majority leader from camden county representing the sixth congressional district. >> i second the motion. >> those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. i've been advised by the secretary of the senate and the clerk of the general assembly that a quorum is present at this joint session. please rise for the invocation to be offered by pastor robert mor began of union baptist temple, richmond. >> may we bow in prayer. oh lord, our god, how excellent is our name in all the earth.

thank you for this day. thank you for another year. we thank you for the leaders, we ask for your guidance and direction, for them every move that they make, that they would honor you. you said in your word if you acknowledge me in all your ways, i will direct your path. we thank you for this coming week, the life and legacy of dr. martin luther king jr., who made it possible for those of us to be able to sit in places where we never had the opportunity before and that's -- and now we ask your blessing to be upon this proceedings today and we ask it in your son's name we pray, amen. >> thank you, pastor morgan. please remain standing for the pledge of allegiance which will be led by representative sumter

representing the 35th legislative district. >> i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> thank you, assemblywoman sumter, i recognize the president of the new jersey senate from gloucester county, representing the third legislative district, president steve sweeney. >> mr. speaker, i wish to

inform the joint session of the 216th legislature that the governor has arrived. my colleagues, honored guests, ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor and pleasure to present the governor of the state of new jersey, the honorable chris christie.

> thank you. thank you. thank you very much.

thank you very much. thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you very much. happy new year. lieutenant governor. mr. speaker, congratulations. mr. president. members of the state legislature. friends and fellow new jerseyans. the last week has certainly

tested this administration. mistakes were clearly made. and as a result, we let down the people we're entrusted to serve. i know our citizens deserve better. much better. i'm the governor. and i'm ultimately responsible for all that happens on my watch, both good and bad. without a doubt, we will cooperate with all appropriate inquiries to ensure that this breach of trust does not happen again. but i also want to assure the people of new jersey today that what has occurred does not define us or our state. this administration and this legislature, will not allow the work that needs to be done to improve the people's lives in new jersey to be delayed for ny reason.

i am the leader of this state and its people. and i stand here today proud to be both. but also those of you who know me know that i'm always, always determined to do better. so now, i come before you once again, for my fourth time, to report to you on the state of our state. and the good news is that today, the state of our state is good and it is getting

etter. we mber that four years ago were in the throes of an economic crisis. today our unemployment rate is .8%, the lowest in five years. four years ago, we were losing jobs. today, we have gained 70,000 jobs in 2013 alone. and a teal of 156,000 in the last four year -- and a total of 156,000 in the last four years. four years ago, wealth and jobs were leaving the state. today, personal income for new

jerseyans is at an all-time high and we're atracking new companies and that has brought jobs. we now have four straight years f private sector job growth. in fact, in november, the drop in our unemployment rate was the largest one-month drop ever measured and in the last year, new jersey had the second largest drop in its unemployment rate in america only behind the state of north carolina. and we could have chosen to go down a path of continued tax increases and fund the state's addiction to spending but we didn't. we held the line against any new taxes and held the spending to a level below fiscal year 2008, six years ago. we could have let state government grow even while the

private sector shrank but we didn't. today, there are 6,000 fewer state employees than when i took office four years ago. but, there are more than 155,000 new private sector employees. we've improved our business climate. and today by every measure, business confidence in new jersey is up. in fact, one national magazine ranked new jersey among the top five states with the most improved business climates in america. it's no accident how we got to this place today no accident at all. e chose, we chose the way. in this new year and the next

four years, we need to build on this momentum by creating a new attitude. we need to create an attitude of choice. attitude of choice is not about choosing everything. it's not about saying yes to everyone. it is about us setting our priorities and choosing to invest in new jersey where it matters. and to put in place the reforms and reductions that will make that possible. and the best part of our turnarounds in these last four years is because we have chosen to work together. take a moment. these are our achievements. four balanced budgets, passed with bipartisan support. pension reform. passed with bipartisan support. teacher tenure reform, passed with bipartisan support. a cap on property taxes, passed with bipartisan support.

we acted and we acted together. even though the competition among states is fierce, the record on this is clear. no state in this country has shown more bipartisan cooperation and governance over the last four years than new jersey and our people are proud of it. let's resolve today that we will continue to put those people who are proud of us now, that we'll put them first. that we'll choose to do our jobs. one of the things that we know historically has driven people out of new jersey is high property taxes. in 2010, together we capped them and the 2% cap has worked. in these past two years has

been the low nest two decades. but the job is far from finished. property taxes are still too high and today i ask for you to join me in enacting a new property tax relief initiative that tackles the root causes that are driving up property taxes in the first place. but first, let's get some context. the 2% cap we've already enacted has worked for a reason. the reason it's worked is because we've done it by controlling costs. we accompanied it with reform of an interest arbitration award seasonal that we knew needed fixing. as you know, the interest arbitration cap was not permanent. it is set to expire this april unless we act. so i ask you today, on both sides of the aisle, let us renew the cap on interest arbitration awards that is working and let's make that cap

permanent before the deadline n april. another reason property taxes are so high is that our cities and towns are stuck a series of costly state rules that increase the cost of local government. as the cost of government grows, taxpayers, property taxpayers, are paying the price. now, we've worked with the senate to try to pass real consolidation and civil service, shared services reform. we haven't yet got it done in the assembly. we need to have an effort that includes everyone responsible for property taxes. the senate, the assembly. the administration and he call governments to provide them with the authority to run their governments like a business. to consolidate, to share

services, to cut duplication and ultimately to reduce property taxes. don't think it's possible? let's look at what happened last year in princeton. now princeton borough, princeton township talked about this for a long time. they consolidated into a single government. no two tax departments, no two police departments answering the phone. the savings in one year, $3 million. that's not a -- that's on a budget of $64 million. that's a 4.7% savings. the citizens of princeton got this in return. more services, despite a smaller budget and imagine this. a reduction in their municipal taxes. now that's not just an opinion. the local unit alignment reorganization and consolidation commission, and if you think that's easy to

say, let me try one more time -- no, i'm not going to do it. they said the civil service seniority rules were at the top of the list of barriers to shared services. so let's help our towns clear away arcane rules that stand between them and lower property taxes. now when it comes to driving costs, let's not forget, i can't imagine you could, the expensive practice of six figure sick leave payouts for government employees. sick time should be used when you're sick and if you are lucky enough to be healthy, that should be your reward. sick leave has been abused too many times and the cost is real. almost a billion dollars in liability. facing new jersey towns. $880 million to be exact as we stand here today. and it will only get higher if the system is not fixed. these reforms are commonsense.

so let's lift this billion dollar albatross off the necks of new jersey's towns. let's, together, in a bipartisan way, enact the zero means zero plan and stop these payouts in their tracks and the harm it does to our taxpayers. now our pension system is burdened by some who collect disability retirement because they claim they are totally and permanently disabled, but then they turn around and go back and work full time. this is wrong. and it hurts our system and the

people who really deserve the payouts. so first, we've established by executive order a special unit to prosecute pension fraud but we need to go further. so let's go further. we need to solidify our pension system and reduce costs by reforming our disability retirement system to thend fraud and abuse. let me be clear, we're not talking about taking away benefits that people deserve but if folks are going to abuse the system, it hurts every person who needs the system. when they're really, really injured permanently. not only will this help that pension system but it will help to reduce costs and reduce property taxes. now here's one of the open secrets in local government. since the enact. of the 2% property tax cap. some towns get around the cap by enacting user fees to fund traditional services that they use to put in their budget.

10 let's end this practice. all of you in this room who voted for the cap, did not want the cap to be gone around. so let's not make people's property taxes even more expensive by not enforcing the ap and ending these user fees. now i'll have more to say about new jersey's taxes when i present my budget to you next month. that's for a reason. i've always believed we have to consider changes to our tax system in the context of our overall budget picture. so we'll be back to you in february and present some choices regarding taxes. but let me tell you one choice we will not make because it is one answer that will not help grow jobs in our state. and that's raising taxes. you see, if the evidence is clear that increasing taxes

hurts job growth, it's equally clear, equally clear that we need to stand up and not allow the tax burden on the citizens of new jersey to get larger. e need to make it smaller. now if it's clear that property tax and other tax increases hurt our growth, it is equally clear that improving our educational system is key to improving our growth. together again we've made great progress in these last few years. a record amount of school aid, long overdue reform of our system of teacher tenure. increase in the number of charter schools and an urban

hope act bringing renaissance schedules to some of our most challenged cities. some of the results were seen already are really promising. last year, new jersey's high school graduation rate increased by a full percentage point to 87.5%. student achievement is strong in many of our public schools and new jersey students are among the country's greatest achievers. just a few years ago, a graduate on my own high school, livingston high school, won the noble prize in chemistry. -- the nobel prize in chemistry. we're making a huge investment in public education. new jersey spent over $20 billion a year all told. our per pupil expenditure is the highest in the nation at over $17,000 per year. now in some cases, i believe too many, our children are not receiving the education they deserve.

though our public schools are strong, too many are still failing. while the vast majority of teachers are performing well, some are underperforming and they should be removed from our children's classrooms. the need to be better is particularly acute in new jersey cities. our urban schools demand our attention and they have mine. where bold action has been necessary we have taken bold ction. in our largest scoo school system in newark, we brought new resources not only in the farm of state aid but in collaboration with parents, teachers and community leaders on the ground in newark. one result, we negotiated historic contract with the teachers' union and delivered real her rate pay alongside teacher volvet -- increased teacher involvement in the

process. we want to listen to the needs of urban communities. it's why we've empowered those in newark and camden to make choices that work best for their kids, their parents, and their schools. in newark, that superintendent is cami anderson. cami has moved to pay the best teachers more. to stop actions that are failing kids. to empower 50 new principals to create cooperation between the public schools and the public charter schools. and to reorganize the school system structure, to put the focus on kids, their schools and their parents first. what are we seeing? some good early developments. early childhood enrollment is increased by more than 1,000 students. in her tenure the graduation rates have increased by 10%.

newark is leading the conversation and making sure every kid, those who are behind, those who are ahead and those who have special education needs are lifted up. under cami anderson, every kid means every kid. now her efforts haven't always been met without skepticism, but she is a true partner with newark and cares about that city and its public schools. cami is here with us today. cami, i'd like you to stand up so we can thank you for your commitment to the kids in our argest city. how bad has it been in camden? how about this.

last year, only three students graduated college ready. i want you to listen to that again. in the entire public school system in cam ten, last year -- in camden, last year, only three students graduated college ready. that is obscene. and unacceptable. and a breaching of the faith between those families and every level of government responsible for their education . so what are we doing? we're bringing that same energy that cami is bringing to newark to the camden public schools. what's he done already? he turned around a perennially low-performing charter school which is showing some of the

largest economic gains in the state. he's launched a new safe corridors program with mayor dana red which created safe walking routes to and from school for camden's children. and of the 345 students who dropped out last year, he's led the effort to go door to door and he's re-enrolled 50 of those dropouts back in school. i'm proud of what you've done already, i'm pited about what the future of camden schools will bring under your leadership and the leadership of local official there is and i'd like you to stand up to let us thank you for your effort nd dedication.

now both cami and paman have my confidence and support than administration's confidence and support to continue aggressive reforms needed for newark and camden. cami and pambings man are emblems of my commitment to ensuring the opportunity for an excellent education to every child in new jersey, regardless of their zip code. despite the improvements in newark and camden, we need to take bigger and broader steps to address our k to 12 education approach, to address the new competitive world we live in. let's face it. if my children are living under the same school calendar that i lived under, by definition that school calendar is antiquated.

educationally and culturally for the world we live in. life in 2014 is much different than life 100 years ago. it demands something more for our students. it is time to lengthen both the school day and the school year in new jersey. his is not just my idea. i look forward to working in a bipartisan way to get this done. if student achievement is lagging at the exact moment we need improvement more than ever in order to et compete in a world economy, we should take these stops -- steps, every possible step, one key step is

to lengthen the school day and school year. these children need more time in school. some of them to catch up. some of them to excel more. so working with commissioner serf, i'll present to you a proposal to increase the lept of the school tai and school year in new jersey. i believe that this is a key step to improve student outcomes and boost our competitiveness. we shouldn't wait. we should do it now. because every day we waste, our children will never, ever get back. as parents, as grandparentings, as aunts and uncles, we should not stand for it. and under this administration, e won't.

now, many of our new initiatives recognize a core feature of modern american life, that the quality of education and the quality of life in our communities are inextricably intertwined. that's why this year we need to be more aggressive and bolder in fixing our failing schools and delivering a choice to those for whom today the only option is a bad option. a failing school. some more obligation -- it's a moral obligation, everybody. we must give every new jersey child a chance to graduate from high school, to be ready for college if they so choose and to prepare for a career. if we fail to meet this obligation we compromise the life of that child. and we hurt the quality of life in our communities, all across new jersey. so failure is not an option for us.

if education, though, is one key to the quality of life in new jersey, our approach to save streets and stronger communities is another. every new jerseyan should be concerned when violent crimes occur right before our eyes. last month, a young lawyer went to open the door of his vehicle for his wife after an evening of prechristmas shopping. he was set upon by thugs. who wanted to carjack his suv. and in front of his wife, he was shot in the head and left for dead on the deck of a mall parking garage. now, outstanding police work led to four arrests and the suspects are now charged with murder. all four had prior criminal records. all four, fortunately, are now in jail.

how can we tolerate such violence in our midst? the answer is obvious, we cannot. so we must take a new approach to fighting crime in new jersey and prevent tragedies like this from happening. we must do everything we can to swiftly jail those violent criminals who bring additional murder and disruption to innocent victims across our state. we have the tools to do this, some of which we've begun and some of which we've not. i believe 2014 must be the year we finish the job. so what have we not finished? almost two years ago, i announced a proposed constitutional amendment to modify the right to bail in new jersey. the concept is simple. new jersey courts should have the right to keep dangerous criminals off the streets and in jail until trial. why is this important? a study by the federal government's justice department

found that one third of the defendants released before trial ended up being charged with some type of pretrial misconduct. one sixth for arrested for new offense and half of those were felonies while they were out on bail. the federal government allowed the violent criminal who is a -- who is adjudged by the court to be a danger to the community, to be held without bail. new jersey law does not. this must change. how can we justify any longer exposing our citizens to the risk of violent crime at the hands of those already in custody who a court determines are predisposed to committed again -- predisposed to commit it again. let us mirror the federal law.

let is pass bail reform in 014. we've had some successes in the last few years, we made progress in reducing crime in new jersey. over the past decade, violent crime is down 16% both across new jersey and in our 15 largest urban centers. and the state's prison population is down 20% since 1999. but we can do better and we must. those 15 urban centers still account for more than half of all the violent crime in new jersey despite representing only 18% of the state's population. now for too long, camden has been one of the most dangerous cities in new jersey and in america. the ability to put police on the street was constrained by

tight budgets, low morale and an absentee rate that sometimes reached 30% in a day. under an agreement that this administration signed with the city of camden and the county of camden, we have reen -- regionalized the police force. a police force that was slightly more than 200. it's now being beefed up to 400 county police officers patroling the city of camden in the metro division. last year the homicide rate was down and the crime rate was down by over 20%. but we the the bat until camden is far -- but we know the battle in camden is far from one. under the mayor, the police chief, and jose cordero who help red deuce crime in one

area particularly, camden is using a new approach. camden is moving in the right direction. and i agree with senator sweeney that we should have incentives for other communities to adopt the shared services agreements and regionalization agreements that are making more cops on the street possible. more cops on the street means safer communities. to make this happen, we will work with you to reintroduce a shared services and consolidation reform measure in this session of the legislature. i hope we get it done. we must also reach out a hand of compassion and commonsense to those who engage in nonviolent crime. we must do a better job of

reclaiming their lives and putting them back on the road to success and engagement with our society. every human life is precious and no life, no life is disposable. that's why i proposed last year to change our approach to nonviolent drug offenders and to mandate treatment, not imprisonment. together, together we made this possible. the drug corps program has been a great success. thanks in part to your support in funding both the court and the treatment. and i thank you for passage this past year of the overdose protection act. we should not be pross cuing those good samaritans and health professionals trying to help in a life-threatening overdose situation. you know new jersey's approach to reclaiming lives? it's working. right in front of our eyes. recidivism has dropped by 11%, one of the steepest drops in

america and new jersey is rightly recognized by national experts as a lead for the strategies among states in reducing the incidence of recidivism. one part of this for me, it's personal. in this room today is a man who was a drug addict at 16 years old. his life was at risk. he was imprisoned. but treatment saved him. he was rehabilitated in our hometown of mendan. he then went on to graduate from high school, to get a college degree, and ultimately got a law degree and passed the bar exam. i had the privilege of hiring him as a summer intern at the u.s. attorney's office many years ago and working with

craig handlen. he's with us now in this chamber. if you need proof that reclaiming a life is possible, that every life is precious and has value, and that no matter what condition you find that life in, that life is salvageable if we reach out and give them the tools they need to help themselves, that proof is in this chamber today. a practicing lawyer who had 16 -- who at 16 years old was in jail as a drug addict. craig, welcome and thank you for making new jersey a better place.

because of the years i have known craig, i know personally the passion and strength that comes from the human desire to make your life better and i believe we can do more to help give people a second chance. that's why today i'm proposing an initiative to expand integrated treatment and employment services for individuals receiving drug treatment services.

by providing grant funds in the amount of $500,000 to be managed in part for theship with the nicholson foundation, we'll place individuals in jobs and help improve their retention and work directly with treatment provide source they integrate employment services with drug treatment services for drug court participants. research shows that employment during substance abuse training -- treatment, rather, ensures continued participation in that treatment and gives them sustainable, long-term employment. so now with this partnership we'll help empower individuals who want and deserve the opportunity to live a life like craig's. a life redeemed and well lived. a year ago this afternoon, our state was in recovery from a challenge not of our own making.

superstorm sandy lev date -- devastated new jersey in the fall of 2012, flooding our homes, turning off our power and destroying our roads. despite the magnitude and devastation of the storm, the one thing we've learned in the last year plus, is that sandy could not break our state's spirit. this past summer, most businesses at the shore opened on time. our boardwalks were rebuilt. many of the crowds came back. and schools that had been damaged were reopened. today about nine months after the first phase of disaster recovery funds started flowing to new mexico, nearly $900 million, more than 2/3 of the funds for housing recovery programs are out the door or in the pipeline. from the begin, the priority for this administration was

putting those with the greatest needs at the front of the line. of the nearly half the housing money that's been allocate sod far, 72.9% of that money has been awarded to low and middle income families. nd we are proud of that. the bottom line is this. we're a long way from the finish line. but we are also a long way from where we were one year ago. challenges remain and i will not rest until every person hurt by sandy has their life back to normal. that is my mission. i want to thank the legislature and all new jerseyans for the cooperative, bipartisan, and resilient spirit that you

demonstrated in coming back from sandy. let that spirit of sandy be a powerful lesson to all of us that when times are most difficult, cooperation and progress are possible. indeed, i'd tell you, they're necessary. lastly, let me share one more hard truth that makes this new attitude of truth i've spoken about today necessary for nug's future. we've discussed so many exciting opportunities for investment in our state both today and in the last number of months, k to 12 education, higher education, crime prevention, drug rehabilitation an job training coming together, increased access to health care, infrastructure investment, lower taxes, job growth, they're all exciting and all of which, done responsibly, could make new

jersey an even greater place. but here's the simple truth that everybody in this government knows. .e cannot afford to do it why? large part because of our pension and debt service costs. for fiscal year 2015, the increase in pension and debt service costs could amount, the increase, could amount to as much as nearly $1 billion. that's nearly $1 billion we can't spend on education, that we can't invest in infrastructure improvement. that we can't use to put cops on the streets to increase access to health care. r those who would advocate higher taxes, remember that the amount raised by that tax would not even cover the increase in

our scheduled pension pame for next year. and would undoubtedly make usless competitive in this fiercely competitive national job market. at situation, exciting choices to be made but the resources not available to do them, these are the consequences of failing to engage in an attitude of choice. if we continue in an era where we believe we can choose everything, let me suggest that to the you we're choosing nothing. we need to have the conversation now about further changes to our pension system and about adding further to our state's already burdened debt load. the time to avoid this conversation and avoid these choices is nearly over, everybody. if we do not choose to reduce our soaring pension costs and

debt service costs, we will miss the opportunity to improve the lives of every new jersey citizen, not just this -- not just a select few. i'm ready to engage in those conversations and help, with you, to truly create in this state an honest attitude of choice. e result will be a better, smarter, stronger new jersey. the results from our our refusal to make the tough choice, our refusal to choose will be a we canner new england and make no -- will be a weaker new jersey. and make no mistake about it. if we choose everything, no matter what rhetoric either side of the aisle uses, the only way to continue to pay for this is to burden our middle class with even higher taxes in this state. that is to me, and i believe to all of you, an unacceptable alternative and it is an abandonment of o